The Indian High Commission says it has introduced “interim measures” including a doorstep service to speed up the visa application process said to have left millions of bookings at risk.
Speaking on a video on Twitter at the end of last week, Indian High Commissioner Vikram K.Doraiswami said the number of visa applications now being dealt with for travel to the country from the UK had doubled from 20,000 a month to 40,000 as a result of changes being made to the booking system in October.
A new visa processing centre has already opened in Glasgow and another opens in Marylebone, London, today (November 1) to speed up the process after the destination stopped e-visas and demanded all applications be made in person.
More: ‘Devastating’ tourist visa change leaves thousands of India holidays at risk
Doraiswani also pledged that from November 1 it would also be easier to secure visas for group tours through the trade to India.
He said: “For those of you who travel with a group, typically through a travel agency, to the same destination, on the same flight, these processes will be in place and instructions will be available for you to use on November 1.”
A new doorstep service, in which visas can be collected from an applicant’s home and returned once processed, will also be made available for a “small cost”, he said, as well as a service, also available for a fee, to help with form-filling.
In a previous statement on Twitter on October 12, the high commissioner acknowledged the visa process had been “difficult” and announced extra capacity was being added to speed up the process.
India specialists and travel agents have already cited the lengthy waits and difficulties obtaining an in-person visa meeting as causing major problems, with some refusing to take bookings until the situation eases.
Amrit Singh, managing director of tour operator Transindus, described the high commissioner’s actions as “at best a temporary solution” and called e-visas to be restored.
She said: “In our view, the actions proposed by the high commissioner are at best a temporary solution but an entirely illogical and expensive response to an inadequate visa processing system and a cumbersome application form that is not fit for purpose.
“We ask, why spend such inordinate sums on creating more and more processing centres and force prospective travellers to waste their valuable time making at least two if not more journeys to such centres to submit and collect their visas?
“The easier and optimal solution for all concerned is a return to the e-visa which was available to all international travellers pre-Covid and reinstated to most of the world post-Covid, save the UK and Canada.”
Sam Clarke, managing director, Experience Travel Group, was confident the new measures meant its clients booked to travel to India from December onwards would now be able to go.
But he said: “It has come too late for the bookings we have had to postpone or reschedule, and some have cancelled completely, which is a great shame.”
A return of the e-visa would “really boost demand for India holidays”, he said, adding: “It is a massive drag on any visa system to have to go for an in-person appointment. It will make a substantial difference to demand if they reinstate the e-visa system.”
Peter Jordan, owner of Darjeeling Tours, which offers escorted rail tours to India, said 10 clients out of 28 on his next trip were struggling to get a visa less than a month before departure. “People are just not booking India because of the difficulties. Something has to change,” he said.
Neil Dobbs, director of travel agency Travel Gallery, said visas for his company’s bookings for November to India had been sorted out in time but said some clients had yet to obtain their visas for travel in December.
“Some are relying on appointments just days before they travel,” he said, adding: “It’s a sorry state of affairs.
“We have an enquiry for India for Christmas but we are refusing to handle it. We don’t want to bring ourselves another headache at this time.”
He called for the British and Indian governments to “stop arguing and put e-visas back in place”.
More: ‘Devastating’ tourist visa change leaves thousands of India holidays at risk